Our finalists are in the midst of their InsectBot build and working hard on 3D printing, coding, and electronics. We thought it might be good for them to take a little break and share a little bit about themselves…
Meet our finalists
Abby
I am Abby and I live in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, The name of my Insect bot is Beetee.
- Why did you decide to participate in the Great InsectBot Mission Competition?
I love robots , electronics, graphics and engineering and space. I take electronics and graphic at school and I thought it would be a great opportunity you use the skills I’ve learnt in class and combine them to produce a mars rover.
- What did you like the most about designing your InsectBot?
I liked the challenge of having to design some thing for somewhere we have never been and the challenges that come with that, weather that be different gravity or lack of atmospheric pressure.
- What is the coolest thing you learned when doing research to design your InsectBot?
I was researching some of the current Mars rovers to see what special features they had that I might consider using on mine and i found out that the current rover curiosity and perseverance are actually nuclear powered which is interesting, however I found it too challenging and irresponsible to consider trying to put onto Beetee.
I also learnt that most beetles which is the insect my robot is based on have two sets of wings. The first wings protect the very fragile flying wings. While my Bot wont fly I will use the idea of the wings protecting the fragile cargo that it will transport
- Tell us something unique about your InsectBot.
My robots name Beetee actually refers to two things. Firstly the base origin of its design was based on a beetle, but secondly it also refers to the hunger games character Beetee, who is really good at electronics.
Harry
My name is Harry and I’m 10 years old. My Insectbot’s name is Arnold for the common name or Anoporrvires for its scientific name.
- Why did you decide to participate in the Great InsectBot Mission Competition?
Because I went to the STEMFest launch and it was announced there. I thought it would be fun to design something properly on Tinkercad and because I have been going to Tinkd
- What is the coolest thing you learned when doing research to design your InsectBot?
I read all about Opportunity and Spirit, the Mars rovers, as well as Mars. The coolest thing was learning how long it took for the NASA to accept the mission, which was 10 years!
- Tell us something unique about your InsectBot
Arnold has a probe called Wormy that can be called over by Arnold. Wormy can go into nooks and crannies that Arnold can’t reach. He can also make sure both he and Arnold are in working well.
Jimmy
My Name is Jimmy, I am 14 years old and I turn 15 in October. I live in Lower Hutt and my insectBot name is Rhinobot.
- Why did you decide to participate in the Great InsectBot Mission Competition?
I love rockets and space. It has been an obsession of mine since a young age. I also like tech and have built and launched my own rockets from scratch. One of my biggest inspirations is Peter Beck. I did my year 8 project, inspiring New Zealanders, on Peter Beck. I build lots of lego including the international space station, lunar lander, space shuttle and Hubble space telescope.
- What did you like the most about designing your InsectBot?
I liked the incorporation of the Rhino beetle and its abilities into the robot.
- What is the coolest thing you learned when doing research to design your InsectBot?
I learnt about how to make legs function and how difficult it is. The Beatles’ legs are different to humanoid robots.
- Tell us something unique about your InsectBot.
My Rhinobot has wings to protect the solar panels. Beetles also have covers to protect their wings. NASA’s insight rover broke down this year because it could not clean the dust off its solar panels.
Lucy
I am Lucy and am 11 years old. I live in Tauranga and my InsectBot is called Hexohollitanium 3,722 (or Sophia). She is called Sophia because the whole point of what I’m doing here is to gather more knowledge and wisdom, which is what the name ‘Sophia’ means.
I decided to participate when I got the email. I thought it would be so fun to learn more things and do lots of research, and to dedicate my time to something that really matters to me.
What I liked about creating Sophia was that I could spend my time researching and learning about robotics, insects, and Mars. It was so fun to do and I enjoyed every minute of it.
The coolest thing I learned was probably everything about robots–I knew hardly anything about it but did know quite a bit about Mars and insects prior to my research. Also about PV batteries and solar power. Something unique about my robot is the way it cleans and repairs and powers itself. It was a bit hard to design and first, but I soon got it!
Matai
- Why did you decide to participate in the Great InsectBot Mission Competition?
It had a cool prize (RocketLab VIP entry) and it seemed like a competition I would like (because of the Arduinos and electronics).
- What did you like the most about designing your InsectBot?
Learning about how insects move and trying to adapt their movement into my design. Also having the challenge of only having four servos and six legs on my design was fun!
- What is the coolest thing you learned when doing research to design your InsectBot?
Learning about Mars’ terrain, especially how rocky and dusty it is. It was also fun adapting this into my design by covering all gaps with flexible 3D printed parts.
- Tell us something unique about your InsectBot.
It is the cross between a spider and a cockroach, despite learning that spiders aren’t insects! It also has a camera – controlled by the main Arduino Uno – mounted in the 3D printed exo-skeleton so it can film the terrain (and extraterrestrial life, if there’s any!).